History glossary
the Tokugawa shogunate
the warrior government that ruled Japan from Edo from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration.
- Category
- Government
- Region
- Japan
- Date range
- 1603-1868
What it means
The Tokugawa shogunate was the military government founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. It ruled from Edo, controlled foreign relations, managed daimyo domains and preserved a stable but rigid social and political order until its fall in 1868.
Related terms
Stories using this term
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
